Language Credit Options

Language Requirement

The Bachelor of Arts degree includes a language requirement which may be met by one of the following options:

Option 1 – Foreign Language

One of the following

Documentation of a proficiency level of “Intermediate Low” or better through an examination administered by the WSU Foreign Language Departmentor through an examination by a recognized testing agency. (See below: Obtaining language credit through prior experience.)

Completion of WSU foreign language course 2020 with a grade of “C” or higher, or comparable transfer credit.

Completion of any upper-division WSU foreign language course with a grade of “C” or higher, or comparable transfer credit.

Students for whom English is a second language may meet the BA foreign language requirement by:

verifying their proficiency in English as a Second language by passing the ESL Special Examination.

Documentation of a minimum proficiency level in American Sign Language through an examination administered by the American Sign Language/Interpreting Program at Salt Lake Community College. The signer must produce and maintain American Sign Language with “continuity and precision.”

Completion of WSU American Sign Language course 2020 with a grade of “C” or higher, or comparable transfer credit.

Completion of twelve semester-hours of foreign language.

Refer to the Foreign Languagesection of this catalog for additional information on obtaining foreign language credit.

Option 2 – Foreign Language with Language Arts

Note: This option is only available when specified by the major course requirements.

Completion of at least six semester-hours of foreign language with further course work up to six semester-hours in the language arts beyond the composition requirement in the general education core. Language arts course work may include literature, creative writing, rhetoric, music composition, etc. Students should refer to the major for specific requirements.

The Bachelor of Music degree and Bachelor of Music Education degree requirement is for two semesters of foreign language chosen from French, German, Italian, and Spanish. The requirement may be satisfied by taking two semesters of the same language, or one semester each of two different languages.

Obtaining Foreign Language Credit for Prior Language Experience

Students with prior language experience may obtain lower-division foreign language credit by completing one of the following options:

Students may obtain credit for FL 1010, FL 1020, FL 2010 and FL 2021 through examination, but only in those languages in which the Department of Foreign Languages has expertise (usually limited to French, German, Japanese and Spanish). This examination is administered regularly by the department. Credit for Humanities General Education (FL 2020) cannot be obtained through examination.

Credit for foreign languages not offered at WSU can be obtained by examination at another accredited university, such as the University of Utah (http://www.languages.utah.edu/dcet/?pageId=5062) and Brigham Young University (http://flats.byu.edu/). Students who successfully pass these exams may purchase WSU credit for FL 1010, 1020, 2010, 2021 and 2030—a total of 15 credit hours. Language exam score results should be sent to WSU's Department of Foreign Languages.

Upon payment of a nominal fee, hours earned through either option are recorded as “credit” on the transcript and do not affect the student’s GPA. The department may accept results from other foreign language testing agencies as evidence of proficiency. Application for credit is to be made at the office of the Department of Foreign Languages.

Generally, students may not earn lower-division foreign language credit for proficiency in their native language. If a student’s second language is English, then English may fill the BA foreign language requirement (see specific BA-major department advisors).